How do social media change our understanding of individual identity, with regard to the kinds of people we have in our social networks?

Individual identity is a term explaining how people express themselves via social media. Whether it’s through their user name, images displayed, or customized profile, individuals are entitled to express themselves in whichever way they like. However, this freedom is not always such a good thing as it gives people to opportunity to pretend to be someone they are not. As our online environment becomes open and sharing, the dangers of social media become more prominent, threatening our safety and individuality.

Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content.” Social media allows people to communicate and share data just by the click of a button, which is not only easy but also affordable and extremely quick. However, social media is not all fun and games. Identity theft is a major issue among the virtual community and is a very easy thing to do. We share so much information via the Internet, more than we even realise as we overlook that Google never forgets. Just through a google search, one is able to find out family information, school, work history, birth dates and even worse, our credit card history and email address, which may lead to access of bank accounts.

Nowadays, it is often that people gain access to other’s credit cards after making an online purchase. By obtaining someone’s credit card details means they are able to spend thousands of dollars in purchases, leaving the credit card holder in a lot of debt for things they didn’t even buy. Another common form of identity theft occurs on social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace. Users can create fake accounts, pretending to be somebody else either to conceal their own identity or humiliate another person. By putting up pictures of the person they are pretending to be and by adding their friends, users are lead to believe that this person is who they say they are. Online news site pc1news.com, is flooded with comments stating that they need help to get their fake Facebook profile deleted. With pleas for help, one lady even stated that it tearing her family apart, while another said that someone is sending obscene messages to a lady using her husband’s name.

This YouTube video explains how easy identity theft really is. Personal information can be accessed with the click of a button:

However, identity theft can sometimes be used more dangerously. When it comes to cyber-predators, or online paedophiles, they may use information of young children in attempt to lure in another young child, request for them to meet up and “hang out” with the intention of raping them, and in some cases murdering them. This video on 60 minutes reveals police catching cyber-predators who have been exposing themselves to young girls on the Internet, pretending to be someone else in order to get them to meet up with them.

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1017294

According to Paul Bocij, a female at Iowa State University in 2001 hacked into her friend’s email account and was able to impersonate them; turning down a $200,000-a-year job they had been offered. She had been able to access the account because of her personal knowledge of the friend, therefore able to hack his passwords. Identity thieves rely on simple tactics to gather their information and these are called phishing and pharming. Phishing involves luring victims to a fake website using techniques such as sending out fake emails which seem like they are from a genuine company. These emails contain a web address for the recipients to access, offering them some sort of reward or benefit, or even pretending that there is a potential problem with, for example, their bank account. Pharming, on the other hand, redirects ones web browser to a fake website which is done via poisoning of local domain servers or malware such as Trojans and browser add-ons. Users are generally unaware that they are being redirected to another website as the address they typed in can remain visible.

Social media makes it difficult for us to have our own individual identity. Everything you post on the internet can be seen by almost anyone, therefore it is essential that you think before you post something on any website and to anyone. On social networking websites, ensure that your profile is set to private allowing only your friends to view your information. No one can be trusted on the Internet. It’s a dog eat dog world and everyone is hungry to make themselves look better and please their own desires, even if that means pretending to be someone else. Be mindful about the types of people you are talking to as it is very easy for people to put on an act and convince you of who they are but remember they are hidden behind a computer screen and that face you imagine to be theirs may be the complete opposite.

Our individual identity is in danger and the Internet provides nowhere for us to hide. Articles.winferno.com states that “one is eight Americans in the last 5 years has been affected by Internet identity theft” and as advancements in technology continue to proceed, the risk is only increasing. Information sent over unsecured transmission makes it so simple for identity thieves to steal our personal information, either using it against us or for their own benefit. Trouble-free ways to protect yourself from identity theft include deleting your web history, securing your accounts, empty your recycling bin, and be careful about who you share information with. Your individual identity makes you who you are and how you express yourself is unique, but the internet will continue to be an unsecure place and only you can prevent the risk of your individuality being taken from you.

Reference List

Bocij, Paul (2006) 'The Dark Side of the Internet', Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Finklea, Kristin M. (2009) 'Identity Theft: Trends and Issues', Library of Congress: Congressional Research Service

Hayward, Claudia L. (2004) 'Identity Theft', Novinka Books: New York

Sixty Minutes, channel nine, reported by Tara Brown, accessed 21-10-2010

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1017294

Conclusion- Final Blog Entry

Overall, I found New Communication Technologies to be a very interesting and exciting course. By covering a wide range of topics, I was able to gain a further understanding into different communication devices, the internet and how it works, free software and various other topics. My favourite part of this course was the blogs. Prior to NCT, I had never used a blog before and the fact that our weekly assessments were to be posted in blog format instead of formally written and handed in on a sheet of paper made the course far more interesting (not to mention a whole lot easier!)

Week 9- Response to Lecture

Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk is a science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life".The name is a blend of cyberneticsand punk and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk", published in 1983 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk).It is known for its gritty aesthetic nature and questionable morality and written about by people such as William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, John Shirley and Rudy Rucker.

Born 17 March, 1948, William Gibson completed a bachelor of english from the University of British Columbia and since then has written many things including multiple trilogies. His novel Neuromancer (1984) is his most well-renowned novel linked to cyberpunk. He emphasized style, a fascination with surfaces, and atmosphere over traditional science-fictiontropes(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk#Literature).

"Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body." – Lawrence Person

Week 9- Tutorial Task and Tutespark

Write about your chosen essay topic, your initial thoughts about this topic, and where you think you may begin researching it.

The topic I have chosen for the essay is question number five: "How do social media change our understanding of individual identity, with regard to the kinds of people we have in our social networks?"

Social media has become an everyday life necessity from Facebook to Myspace and even Twitter. Even though it may seem as though it is more a teenage/young adult trend, even the oldies are getting into it through their kids and grandchildren. Although social networking may seem like fun and games and a great way to stay in touch with old friends, it can be very dangerous as it is easy for users to conceal their real identity and pretend to be someone else which can sometimes lead to people being stalked, raped or abducted. People are able to easily find out intimate details of ones life just by a click of the mouse.

I believe this topic holds a lot of potential for me to write about and investigate into disastrous stories about misuse of social media. A while ago I saw a story on 60 minutes about a girl who had been chatting to a guy on a social networking site who was actually an elder man pretending to be a young, good looking teenager. As the girl became interested in this "guy", they planned to meet up only for her to be set up and brutally murdered by this man. It is sickening stories like these that need to be heard in order to protect the lives of common social networkers. It is so easy for people to pretend to be someone else behind a computer screen whether it's to get attention, make friends, impress someone or even convince them that you are someone you're not. The internet is a dangerous place and no one should be trusted!

Week 7- Tutespark

Try some free software - good examples which are free and easy to download are: Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, Gimp, Audacity, amsn, pidgin, etc. Try to use it exclusively for a few days - then decide whether you like it or not! Say why/why not.

Mozilla Firefox

Pros-

I used Mozilla Firefox for five days and found it's download speed to be very fast. It seemed to be secure and safe to use and always blocked annoying pop-ups and I liked that fact that I was able to download it on my Mac and PC and also that you can choose from different themes.

Cons-

I found with Mozilla Firefox that not every website would open and said that it was not compatible and although I could have lots of tabs open in the same browser, it would often begin to freeze and I would lose all the sites I was on. I have also read that it is a memory hog and chews up all your memory which wouldn't be a good thing if i were to use it constantly.

Week 7- Response to Lecture

This week we spoke about...

Creative Commons

Creative Commons, also known as CC, began in 2003 as non-profit organisation which provided copyright, allowing creators to make their work available on more freely. Creative Common licences allow everyone and anyone to copy a piece of work as long as they give credit to the creator. However, the creator can apply conditions to their works such as non-commercial, no derivatives or shareAlike. This notion that we can rest our copyrighted content in the "interests of sharing" comes from the Free Software Foundation.

Free/Libre, Open Source Software (FLOSS)

Created in 1981 by Richard M. Stallman, the Free Software Foundation created a free operating system fully made from free software known as GNU. The was before propriety software came about including windows, Microsoft office, internet explorer, etc.

Source Code- a source code is instructions written in programming format that tell a computer to do specific things and this is how computer software works. There are Four Freedoms for Free Software which is a legal document controlling what you can and can't do with Free Software:

Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.

Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.

Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbour.

Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

Open Source is an attempt to push Free Software into the business world. The Open Source source code is openly available and anyone is able to view it or use it. Propriety software, as mentioned before, requires the source code to remain confidential with development goals set by the software company

Week 6- Tutespark

Who owns the content you put on the internet on various sites? Who owns the right to your creations?

Facebook's terms and conditions states:

You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings.

Although we may own the content that we submit on the internet, by confirming to submit content we are allowing the internet site to stream it however it is our own duty to make sure we choose who can see our content through the privacy settings.

Week 6- Response to Lecture

In this week's lecture we had a guest lecturer called Adam speaking to us about Media, New Media and Social Media.

New Media

New media is a broad term covering a wide range of "new media content". We spoke about Virtual Community which is "a way to explain a group of people who communicate via the internet", for example, chat rooms, facebook, myspace, msn messenger. Individual Identity also comes under New Media which explains how people express themselves on the internet whether it's through their chat name, customised myspace/facebook page or even the images they display. However, this notion is dangerous as people may pretend to be someone else either to impress someone, make fun of someone or even to scam people.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 emerged after the .com crash in 2000 as Tim O'Reilly and friends came up with the notion that there was a new era in web's history. It came with the idea of user-generated content which is that people create photos, videos, texts and put them on the internet, i.e. facebook, youtube. This also included sharing data openly between services on the internet and organising knowledge, which can be known as "folksonomy".

Social Media

Social media also evolved in this time including weblogs/blogs, social networking services such as facebook, myspace and twitter, chat rooms and content sharing communities. Social media is one of the most common uses for the internet and has sadly become apart of majority of people's every day lives. Although it is a great way to stay in touch with friends or meet new ones, it can also be used dangerously for things such as stalking and abuse.

Week 5- Tutorial Task

Parents of Griffith University are going on strike as they are outraged that their children are taking advantage of their parents hard earned money. Students are wasting their parents on food and alcohol at the Uni Bar, whilst their parents are also paying their tuition fees and petrol. Vivien, Alex and I interviewed a few students at Griffith University to see what their main source of income was.

Week 5- Tutespark

The first Culture Jam

The term "cultural jamming" was first used by the collage band Negativland to describe billboard alteration and other forms of media sabotage. On Jamcon '84, a mock-serious bandmember observes, "As awareness of how the media environment we occupy affects and directs our inner life grows, some resist...The skillfully reworked billboard...directs the public viewer to a consideration of the original corporate strategy. The studio for the cultural jammer is the world at large." http://www.rebelart.net/source/dery.pdf

The most influential Culture Jam

The most influential culture jam is the 2004 American documentary "Super Size Me" directed by and staring Morgan Spurlock. The film follows a 28 day period which he only eats McDonalds for every meal, demonstrating poor nutrition as he always "super sizes" his meals.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me

The most damaging Culture Jam

At a first glance Nike's latest billboard, "The most offensive boots we've ever made," uses a simple word play to confuse the notion of offensive. Offensiveness is a football tactic, they tell us, not a response to injustice. This created fictional sense of 'offense' crowds out any notion of real moral offense. The passive spectator of the ad, the one who doesn't consciously notice the billboard and couldn't be bothered thinking about it, has their notion of 'offense' blurred and slightly confused. It's far easier to think sport than to think about the complexities of human rights abuses in other countries. The powerful cultural voice of Nike is telling me that offense has to do with sport, and I don't like getting into arguments.

source: anon

Not content with the normal boundaries of advertising, Nike's publicity takes it further. They build upon this fictional offense by 'jamming' their own billboards. They paste over their own billboards (though conspicuously never covering over the Nike swoosh) with messages, "What next, rocket packs?," and "Fair Minded Footy Fans say Not Fair Mr Technology" in order to feign outrage at the supposed injustice of boots that are simply too good. These 'jams' even go as far as to mimic the messy typefont used by previous authentic jams.

http://www.antimedia.net/nikesweatshop/

Week 5- Response to Lecture

In last weeks lecture, we spoke about the consumption of film and television, and the significant dates in history that changed the industry. This week's lecture picked up where we left off, introducing the other side of film and television; production. With such amazing technical devices being made nowadays, such as high quality digital cameras, laptops and mobile phones with cameras/video cameras, any regular person is able to produce their own film in the palm of their hands.

These inventions give everyday people the opportunity to show their creativity, and with online video streaming websites such as youtube, they are able to showcase their works on the internet to the entire world, hoping that one day someone will see it and believe they have talent. The convergence between consumption and production is made possible through modern devices, making film production simple, affordable, accessible and easy to do.

In the lecture, Jules explained to us that the first footage of the Tsunami was released via a mobile phone. Due to the severity of the waves, the media were unable to get in there to document the horrific natural disaster. Without mobile phones, the world would have never been able to experience this tragedy.

Here is an example of a simple short film called "Midnight Paranoia", filmed and edited on a Nokia 6220:

We also briefly spoke about Culture Jamming which is defined as a method of modifying mass media to convey a "message" whether it's political, social or some other form of activism. Although I had never heard of this term before, I had heard of stories which have portrayed culture jamming. I believe the approach of culture jamming has positives and negatives; the false stories created have a message which may or may not effect people around the world, however, these false stories created can hurt people as they are led to believe false information.

Week 4- Response to Lecture

In this week's lecture, we discussed movies and television- "from the big screen to the small". Over time, the cinema industry and the television industry have fought for the top spot; the one with the highest ratings and the one who makes the most money. However, today they have gradually worked together to combine a solution that not only brings money in for both sides, but entertains viewers.

In 1895, Cinema was born in Paris and two years later the first permanent movie theatre was built. 1903 saw the birth of the first narrative film which was only 14 scenes and 10 minutes long (clearly, we have come a long way since then). Three years later, the first full length feature film was made in Australia, "The Kelly Gang", which went for 60-70 minutes. With the creation of sound in 1921 and technicolour in 1923, the cinema industry was developing into a spectacular medium which could be enjoyed by people of all ages. The cinema industry has progressed even further nowadays with the invention of imax theatres, 3d movies, and blockbusters.

1939 saw the birth of television television which is when the war began between tv and film. The cinema industry now had to create new and more exciting forms of viewing cinema in order to keep society entertained. However, in 1955, the cinema and television industry combined to show movies on tv which therefore brought money in for both sides. With modern inventions such as DVDs, 3d tv's, austar and high definition, both industries continue to find more ways to make money with the assistance of technology. And as technology continues to advance, so will the movie and television industries keeping the cycle of money spinning.

Week 4- Tutespark

"Coin Laundry" by Jerome Olivier

Coin Laundry is a short story about a man who has a very simple idea about how to lead a happy life. He would love to share his life with someone else, but no one wants to listen because they perceive him as a wacko who walks around with a laundry basket, until he finds his sole mate in the end. Director, writer and producer, Jerome Olivier, says that "Coin Laundry was designed for web viewing from the ground up" and newvenue.com was a great place to stream it as it is an exhibition space made for films that are specifically made for the internet.

The simple storyline makes this short film quite effective. It is a nice love story which viewers of all ages can enjoy. Im not sure if this film could ever become viral because it is probably not very appealing to most people, for example, young boys and is a tad unrealistic. However, it is a pleasant short film conveying a simple love story between two young people.

http://www.newvenue.com/archives/feature49/index.html

"Lovefield" by Mathieu Ratthe

Mathieu Ratthe is an aspiring director who streams his work via youtube. His short film, "Lovefield" creates a variety of emotions within the hearts of viewers they are taken on a short emotional roller coster. The short film sees a man standing in the cornfield leading the audience to believe he has murdered a woman. With blood all over him, he goes to his car acting very suspicious and ancy, until we finally see a baby who is born and the viewers realise he has helped deliver it.

I like that the storyline is unexpected and suspenseful. It creates a number of different moods and emotions within the viewer. The quality and effectiveness of the filming really makes the film so awesome. The variety of angles and shot techniques enhance these emotions conveyed and make it very appealing to a wide audience.

"Pixels" by Patrick Jean

Pixels is an extremely clever short film about old video games such as tetris, pacman, donkey kong, etc, taking over the world and creating havoc in New York. Patrick Jean is a graphic designer who came up with the concept and made it along with One More Production and streamed it on the internet. Within 24 hours of its release the film had gone viral with the concept now about to be made into a film by Adam Sandler.

Pixels is such a cool concept and so cleverly put together which is no wonder why it went viral so quickly. Although the storyline is unrealistic, it captures the idea of fantasy and possibility and really creates that "what if" factor within viewers.

Please note: Week 4 Tute Task is under Week 3 response to lecture

Week 3- Response to Lecture & Tutespark

This week's lecture focused on a short history of the computer and the internet. The computer had origins in various machines, including Charles Babbage's Difference Engine created in the 19th century. The computer became a commercial product in the 1950s and the first computer was sold, used solely for government, military and corporate companies, however it was still large and unsuitable for average home consumption. However, the first computer was founded by Alan Turing during WW2, and in 1975 the first PC (personal computer) was released by Bill Gates called Microsoft.

It is interesting to know that the computer was originally mechanical rather than electronic, and the first computer program was created by Ada Byron- Lady Lovelace. The 1990s saw the birth of the World Wide Web (WWW) allowing us to use computers and the internet to communicate. Certain internet applications were created as communication tools including electronic mail (email), file transfer protocol (FTP) and internet relay chat (IRC). Nowadays, there are even more internet communication tools which attract a faster response and are even more reliable. These include instant messaging (IM), peer-2-peer file transferring (p2p), portable audio, voice chat (eg. Skype), Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.

Technology continues to advance day by day, through new inventions, discoveries and developments in science. The world will forever be introduced to new and exciting communication tools which will assist us in our everyday living. The World Wide Web is all around us and has become an essential part of society and I don't believe we would know how to live without it.

TUTESPARK

Digital- a data technology that uses discrete (discontinuous) values...Although digital representations are discrete, the information represented can be either discrete, such as numbers, letters, or icons, or continuous, such as sounds, images, and other measurements of continuous systems.- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital

Analogue- A method to store information as continuously variable signals instead of electronic codes.- http://publications.europa.eu/vademecum/vademecum/9313fdfe-c49e-119e-45c6a6441e63e066_en.html

Communication- Communication is a process of transferring information from one entity to another. Communication processes are sign-mediated interactions between at least two agents which share a repertoire of signs and semiotic rules.- http://www.google.com.au/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=define:communication&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&ei=D_N5TOm4IsWPcdqX2PQF

Electronic- the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices- http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=electronics

The Typewriter-

is a mechanical device containing a set of keys and when they keys are pressed, characters are printed onto paper.

http://www.principalspage.com/theblog/wp-content/uploads//2007/07/typewriter.jpg

Cassette Tape-

is a magnetic tape sound recording format...consisting of two miniature spools, between which a magnetically coated plastic tape is passed and wound. These spools and their attendant parts are held inside a protective plastic shell. Two stereo pairs of tracks (four total) or two monaural audio tracks are available on the tape; one stereo pair or one monophonic track is played or recorded when the tape is moving in one direction and the second pair when moving in the other direction. This reversal is achieved either by manually flipping the cassette or by having the machine itself change the direction of tape movement ("auto-reverse").

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Cassette

http://www.davidairey.com/images/design/cassette-tape-1.jpg

Braille-

is a method used by blind people to read and write. Named after Louis Braille, who created it in 1821, each character is made up of six dot positions arranged in 2 columns of 3 dots each.

http://www.quido.cz/objevy/Braille.gif

Week 4- Tutorial Task

1.Where and when did usable online video start?

FireAnt.tv was the first RRS based media player created for downloading and viewing online videos

2.In the lecture we heard about technological innovations that were used by the studios to lure audiences. What recent innovations are being used to lure us in the movies? What are they luring us from?

Nowadays, the film industry is beginning to create a lot of 3D movies, creating an exciting experience for audiences- eg. get to wear cool glasses, the action pops out right in front of your face. Although 3D is an older medium and has been around since 1952, majority of movies being created these days are coming out in 3D as well as 2D. Also, a popular genre at the moment is romantic-action movies which combines the two most popular genres into one which invites a wider audience eg. both sexes. These innovations are luring us away from our own home entertainment systems, eg. austar, surround sound, dvd players, higher quality televisions, and back into the cinema for a more social viewing.

3.Are short films still being made? Why? Who pays for them to be made?

Yes, short films are still being made. For example, advertisers are creating short films in order to advertise their products, hoping to make a positive influence on viewers and also independent and emerging film makers, trying to be recognised and show their talent and passion. In addition, well-reknowned animation company Pixar still create short films and have been since 1986 and their website claims that "Pixar's shorts have helped foster and develop technologies and talent at the studio, but they are mostly made for one simple reason: love of the art form" (http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/about_us/overview.htm). Pixar has picked up nine Academy Awards nominations and three Academy Awards over time. Their latest short released was Toy Story 3 which is currently screening in cinemas.

4.The term viral is thrown about adhoc but what does it mean in film/movie arena? Give some examples.

The term viral relates to a video spread by "word of mouth" on the internet because of it's "infectious" nature. Some example include "Bon Qui Qui", William Hung's American Idol audition tape, and also Lazy Sunday: The Chronicals of Narnia Rap by The Lonely Island. Generally, this infectious nature of the viral videos is the humour factor that each possess. Young kids, especially, come across these funny videos online and tell their friends, who tell friends who tell friends of friends, and therefore the cycle begins and soon enough, the video becomes viral.

5. Online video distribution isn't limited to the short film format. We are now starting to see television styled shows made solely for internet release (webisodes). Find an example of this style of content and discuss how viewing television content in this way can positively and negatively affect the viewer's experience.

Webisodes.org is an online video distribution site which release videos in "webisodes". Many television shows these days are being aired not only on the television but also on various video streaming websites- eg. casttv.com and surfthechannel.com. Viewing video online has some positives and negatives effects on the viewer's experience- online video is easily accessible and always available and with modern day technology, such as laptops, iphones and ipods, is extremely portal. The down side is that the viewing of online video is generally personal nowadays and usually takes place at home, taking viewer's away from the social factor of seeing a movie with others and keeping them locked up in the house instead of getting out and going somewhere.

Week 3- Tutorial Task

Treasure Hunt

1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?

Bagger 288- 45,500 tonnes and costed $100 million to build

http://www.michaelgriswold.com/Pictures/ALL/bagger/bagger.html (13/8/10)

2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Ozzy Osborne?

The quickest way to contact Ozzy Osbourne would be by Twitter

http://twitter.com/OfficialOzzy (13/8/10)

3.When and what was the first example of global digital communication?

The first example of global digital communication was Morse Code invented by Samuel F. B Morse in 1836.

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/morsecode.htm (16/08/10)

4. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

The cheapest form of travel from Gold Coast to Melbourne is flying with Tiger Airways for $59 with no luggage

http://travel.webjet.com.au/webjettsa/home.aspx?flight_search_action=http%3A%2F%2Ftravel.webjet.com.au%2Fwebjettsa%2Fhome.aspx&TripType=OneWay&CityFrom=OOL&DateOut=2010%2F8%2F18&CityTo=Melbourne&DateBack=2010%2F8%2F22&TravelClass=ECONOMY&NumAdult=1&NumChild=0&NumInfant=0&x=55&y=13&EntryPoint=Flight&RequestFrom=Outside

(14/8/10)

5. Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?

Hatsune Miku is the vocaloid2 which is a singing synthesizer software created by Yamaha Corporation, allowing users to synthesise singing bytyping in lyrics and melody. Her birthday is the 31st of August

http://www.moetron.com/2008/08/30/happy-birthday-to-our-sweet-virtual-idol-hatsune-miku/

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080816221211AAkCD73 (14/8/10)

6. Find a live webcam in Antarctica. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.

The live webcam that I found from Antarctica was from Mawson Station which is an isolated outcrop of rock at the edge of the Antarctic highland. Additionally, at Mawson Station you can stay in a living hut called the Balleny which can provide accomodation for up to six people.

http://www.aad.gov.au/asset/webcams/mawson/default.asp

http://www.virtualtourist.com/hotels/Antarctica/Hotels_and_Accommodations-Antarctica-TG-C-1.html (16/08/10)

7. What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1980?

The top song was ACDC's "You shook me all night long"

http://www.answers.com/topic/back-in-black (16/08/10)

8. How would you define the term 'nano technology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?

Nano technology is the manufacture of a small structure measured in nano metres and created from elements such as atoms and molecules.

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Nanotechnology (16/08/10)

9. What type of camera is used to make ‘Google Street View’?

The type of camera used was the Dodeca 2360 made by Navteg

http://www.itechdiary.com/camera-to-make-street-view-technology-in-google-map.html (16/08/10)

10. Translate these questions into Klingon

1. nuq 'oH the weight vo' the world’s biggest machine chay' 'ar ta'ta' 'oH cost Daq chen

2. nuq 'oH the best way quickest HochHom reliable Daq contact Ozzy Osborne

3. ghorgh 'ej nuq ghaHta' the wa'DIch example vo' global digital communication

4. nuq 'oH the cheapest form vo' travel vo' the SuD baS Coast Daq Melbourne

5. 'Iv 'oH Hatsune Miku nuq company ta'taH ghaH belong Daq nuq 'oH Daj qoS

6. tu' a yIn webcam Daq Antarctica tu' a Daq Daq stay Daq Antarctica

7. nuq bom ghaHta' top vo' the Australian pop charts vam week Daq

8. chay' would SoH define the term nanotechnology Daq lIj ghaj mu'mey nuq ta'taH 'oH really mean

9. nuq type vo' camera 'oH used Daq chenmoH Google Street View

10. [Translate] Dochvammey [questions] Daq tlhIngan

http://www.mrklingon.org/